Deep River Man Who Killed Mother Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

MIDDLETOWN — A three-judge panel found Robert O. Rankin of Deep River not guilty by reason of insanity in the gruesome killing of his mother in December 2013.

During a trial on Wednesday and Thursday, doctors testified that Rankin, 24, is schizophrenic and has experienced severe psychosis.

Superior Court Judges David P. Gold, Julia L. Aurigemma and Leslie I. Olear heard evidence presented by Middlesex State's Attorney Peter McShane and defense attorney Dennis McMahon and accepted that Rankin was not able to comprehend that his conduct was against the law.

He was sent to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown to be evaluated and is due back court July 31 for commitment to the state Psychiatric Security Review Board.

McMahon said Friday he was relieved the judges found Rankin not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect because Rankin should be in a hospital, not prison. He said he also grieves for Rankin's mother, Margaret Rohner, 45, who throughout her life advocated for, and cared for, her son.

"All she did was love the kid and try and get him the help he needed," McMahon said.

Rankin had a long history of mental illness and had been hospitalized many times. McMahon said Rankin thought his mother was an alien and that he had to hurt her because she was taking power from him.

A state police arrest report described a gruesome crime scene and said Rankin readily took responsibility for killing his mother.

State police were called to the rented house that Rankin and Rohner shared about 1 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2013.

Rankin's father, Robert Rankin Jr., 54, called 911 and told state police that he believed "my son killed my ex-wife" and that he could not get into the house but could see inside and that she was on the floor naked, "and there's a big hole in her gut." As he was speaking to state police, his son was approaching the house.

The first trooper arrived moments later and asked the father if his son was involved. He nodded and said, "yes." The younger Rankin then turned and put his hands in the air. The trooper ordered him to the ground, and he complied. Asked if he had any weapons, he said he had a knife in his left pants pocket. "I used the knife to kill my mother," he said.

He also volunteered that he used a fireplace poker that was still inside the house.

Throughout the encounter, police said, the younger Rankin was calm and showed no emotion. He also told the troopers that the killing had occurred about 90 minutes earlier.

Another trooper arrived moments later. After reading Rankin his rights, the troopers asked if he would talk to them about what had happened.

"Yes, and I will tell you anything you want to know," Rankin responded. "I killed my mother because she is pretty much responsible for everything that has gone wrong in my life."

He then described how he killed his mother, stabbing her in the neck with the fireplace poker and cutting open her torso with the knife.

Rankin continued to talk as he was taken to the state police barracks in Westbrook.

"I was trying to make things right and I guess I messed up," he told the state trooper as they rode to Westbrook. Rankin described getting up that morning and developing a plan to snap his mother's neck to kill her. He said he did not talk to her, but suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck. Rankin told the trooper that his mother started screaming and that because he was not snapping her neck, he grabbed the fireplace poker and stabbed her in the neck.

"The accused stated that she still did not die, so he threw her to the ground and attempted to suffocate her and choke her," according to the police report. Rankin said his mother fought back by scratching and punching and that she screamed for help.

"When she still didn't die, the accused stated that he ran into his bedroom and grabbed a Buck knife," according to the report. He said he then took off his clothes to "gain additional strength" and stabbed her. After he had killed his mother, he took her clothing off, too, and mutilated her.

Rankin said that after the slaying, he cleaned himself up and walked his dog. As he returned from the walk, he came upon his father at the house.